The win in front of 17,028 fans created some separation between the two Eastern Conference teams, who entered the game with identical 4-5-8 records. The Crew are now winless in their last seven and have not won a league match since May 24.

Henry set up the entertaining game’s opener in the 17th minute, receiving a defense-splitting through ball from Eric Alexander before hitting a square a pass to MLS Golden Boot leader Bradley Wright-Phillips for a simple finish.

The Red Bulls captain then scored on a shot that looked effortless but was tougher than it appeared just before halftime, stroking a rebound into the top corner of an unguarded net after Wright-Phillips saw two efforts denied at close range.

The goal canceled out substitute forward Adam Bedell’s equalizer and snapped a scoreless streak that dated back to April 23. But there was no celebration from Henry as he immediately urged his defensive teammates to sharpen up after the errors that led to Bedell's strike.

Try as they might, Columbus had no answer for the masterful Henry. He set up Lloyd Sam’s second goal of the season in the 56th minute and fed Alexander in the game's dying moments.

Adding insult to injury for the Crew was the fact that they lost forward Jairo Arrieta to injury in the first half and Bernardo Anor to a late ejection for kicking the ball at a fallen Chris Duvall, drawing his second yellow card.

Both teams continue their respective three-games-in-eight-days stretches with matches on Wednesday. The Red Bulls will head south to take on the Philadelphia Union, while the Crew host Sporting Kansas City.

Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.